Title page for ETD etd-07082009-103345

Deconstructing Kimilsungism: A Political and Ideological
Analysis of the North Korean Regime

Degree

Master of Arts

Department

Political Science

Advisory Committee

Advisor Name

Title

Luke, Timothy W.

Committee Chair

Nelson, Scott C.

Committee Member

Pourchot, Georgeta Valentina

Committee Member

Keywords

North Korea

Kimilsungism

juche

political religion

Date of Defense

2009-06-26

Availability

restricted

Abstract

This thesis argues that the North Korean model of government is a unique model that is influenced, to varying degrees, by extreme leftist and rightist doctrines, including Marxism-Leninism, Stalinism, Maoism, fascism, and Nazism; and shares at least some similarities with all these established models. Rather than being a mere political model, the North Korean model is a political religion that incorporates traits of each of the above-noted models with Korean mythology, Confucianism, extreme militarism, and traditional Korean xenophobia, isolation, and fierce nationalism. The resulting system, identified in this thesis as Kimilsungism, combines with North Korea’s unique juche ideology of national self-reliance and self-actualization to absolutely subordinate the needs of the citizenry to the will of the state. It further serves to deify the founder of North Korea, Kim Il-sung, and his son – and current ruler – Kim Jong-il, via a pervasive propaganda apparatus and cult of personality that has successfully created an alternate reality that the regime can exploit and manipulate as it sees fit.